Dancers, Costumes and Movement Content Essay

Costume: The costume throughout Flesh and Blood is a very important attribute to the piece. All seven of the female dancers wear the same costume in each of the five sections therefore this shows that the costume that Lea Anderson chose was relevant to the themes within the piece all the way through. The costumes are of a medieval style, we know this from the design of the dress as they have square necks and tight fitting wrist length sleeves much like the dresses that were worn in that time period. The dresses reach ankle length on each of the dances and have a fitted torso with a dropped v-waist which then falls into a slightly gathered, loose material lower half which flows down from the waist to the ankle. In this piece I believe it is important for the dresses to be fitted on the arms and torso area as these are the main areas of which are used in the contact work such as lifts- and it then makes it easier to perform these moves as dancers can get a better grip on each other. There are also many intricate arm and hand movements where dancers have to intertwine with each other- therefore the tight fitting arms ensure that the moves can be performed with clarity and precision. The material of the dresses is particularly specific to the underlying storyline of Joan of Arc, as it is a metallic and shiny stretchy silver fabric. This infers the idea of the dresses symbolising armour, which is relevant to the battles that Joan of Arc had to fight. The masculine armour like fabric then contrasts against the feminine style of dress, again backing up the important theme of Joan of Arc throughout the piece. The shiny material also shimmers in the light and emphasises movements and enhances angles that the dancers perform, whether they are big or small moves which then makes developing motifs clearer to see. The dancers have bare feet in each section of the dance, I believe this adds a sense of vulnerability to the hard faced characters and shows that no matter how determined Joan of Arc was she, and also the characters within this dance all have a weak spot. The dresses that the dancers wear also have calf length, fitted grey leggings underneath which we see in section two- and also work to highlight and emphasize movement. I also believe it was important for the dancers to wear leggings as section two has a lot of floor  work involved so it is practical to have these underneath the dresses. Make-up and hair are also important aspects of the costume within this piece and they highlight areas of intricate movement. This is shown in the Cathedral in section 2 of the dance where small eye movements upwards, then to the left are used. This move is simple but is an important reoccurring motif which could symbolise looking up to god- and therefore needs to stand out, which is done through the use of dark eye makeup that contrasts against the dancers pale faces. The red lipstick worn throughout shows the dancers are still feminine even though they have to wear a masculine army colour, and have a short style of hair which is what Joan of Arc had to do in order to disguise herself. The red lipstick symbolises danger and passion and also shows that even though they are pretending to be males- they are still strong female characters for sticking up for what they believe in. Dancers: All of the dancers look on average between the ages of 25 to 35 and are all female. I believe this shows a strong sense of unity within the piece to symbolise the fact that they are part of an army and also makes them all equal to each other. This is important as it shows that the piece is thematic- rather than narrative with main characters. Due to the style of the dance, I believe the dancers will of had to have had training in ballet and contemporary and be able to perform in confined spaces such as the black box theatre setting which is used and be adaptable for the site specific places that they had to perform. Another key aspect of the performance is that the dancers are very precise in the unison sections. This is effective as it heightens smaller movements such as the tapping of the feet in the cathedral setting in section 2. A way that the dancers could have done this is through using specific counts in the music and keeping to a rhythm. Due to their being a lot of minimal eye movement in unison within the routine- also shown in the black box studio in section 5 when the dancers look up as if to heaven, it is important that the dancers were aware of their focus points so that their movements were precise and equal to each other, which is something that is important throughout this piece. Movements: Section 1: The movement in section one is very contained and small. It is a duet between two of the dancers and involves using a lot or inticate armwork where they have to weavein and out of each other. This could symbolise that the battle Joan of Arc had to face was a constant struggle. This concept is also shown and the first female dancer in this section looks as though she is being dominated and controlled by the second femal character who is stood behind her throughout- almost overlooking all of her actions and having imput into what she does. This is shown as a movement when dancer two pushes dancer one down to the floor to continue her movements on a lower level. This makes dancer two look more superior and therefore gives off the impression she is symbolic of the males telling Joan of Arc she wasn’t allowed to fight. Section 2: Section two involves all 7 of the female dancers and is set in a black box studio. The floor work in this section such as the repeat motif which is shown also in section five where the dancers lay on their back with their feet flat to the floor and their knees bent on and angle with their arms by their side as they push their legs straight out to move backwards gives off an impression that they are symbolising beetles and other insects. Thesharp and angled movements give off imagery as if they are symbolising being bugs- which links to the heaven and hell paintings by the artist Bosch. Because much of this section is on the floor it is symbolic of Hell being present- and is where most people believed Joan of Arc went after her burning at the stake. The calf length leggings and bare feet that the dancers are wearing can also be seen in this scuttling back movement and highlight the angles of the legs- as is also done with the tight fitting sleeves on the arms. Section 3: This section is set inside of a Cathedral and shows 3 of the dancer standing in the alter and the other 4 laid in the knave. This symbolises the communication that Joan of Arc is said to have had with God who told her to  battle with the men, this is shown through intricate eye movement from the dancers standing in the alter as the first thing they do it look upward to heaven, to the left as if to purgatory and then downwards as if to hell. Use of a head tilt to the right when looking to the left is also used which could symbolise shock in hearing or seeing something. The dancers laid on the floor are symbolic of the dreams that Joan of Arc is said to of had and repeat motifs such as the rolling of the fingers that tap onto the floor suggest that her nightmares and dreams were reoccurring and made her react immediately- even before she woke up and decided that she wanted to go into battle. The dynamics in this section are a lot slower then any other andthe dancers are all individuals which suggests that when Joan of Arc visited the church she was distanced from everyone else and felt more alone and vulnerable. Section 4: Section 4 is set outside of the cathedral and is an adapted version of section 1, as it has 2 unison duets- one further forward than the other. This section is also very contact based and manipulative which gives an indication of the relationship that the dancers have with each other. The ‘crusifix’ arm movement is a repeat motif throughout and is shown is section 2 when the dancers sit up from the floor, as if god is helping them progress and become better people. It is also shown in section 4 when the dancers are lifted by the dominating dancers, and their feet are left loosely flailing beneath them while their arms lower so their palms are flat facing downwards. This motif could symbolise that god is now taking Joan of Arcs soul to Heaven as she is burnt at the stake. The shaking of the feet indicates that many people believed she would go to Hell- which is why the arms are lowered from the crucifix movement as this is less holy and God wouldn’t have wanted tha t for the female who stood up for herself.

Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning

Describe the situation at Lehman Brothers from an ethics perspective. What’s your opinion of what happened there? The ethical issue here was that Lehman’s executives exploited loopholes in the accounting standards to manipulate their balance sheet in order to mislead the investing public. Using â€Å"Repo 105†, Lehman was able to clear huge amount unprofitable assets off its balance sheet instead of selling at loss. Evidence pointed out that the chief executive, Richard Ruld, knew about the use of it but faked ignorance in defence.Even the auditors from Ernst and Young knew about the use of the suspicious Repo 105 but chose to keep quiet. I believe that the prime motivation behind the act was to retain investors’ confidence by preventing a plummet in stock price. Hence, the implication was that Lehman was projecting a false image of its strong financial position, meaning that its stock price was overvalued. Through falsified accounting reports, investors w ere tricked into believing that their investments were safe, incurring huge losses when Lehman defaulted. Investors lost faith.The consequences were devastating as it created a systemic crisis of confidence in the banking industry as all other banks froze lending to reduce their exposure of Lehman’s undesirable Repo 105. Lehman’s employees suffered too as they lost their jobs overnight. Could anything be done differently at Lehman Brothers to prevent what happened? Explain. After extensive research, it was apparent that a written â€Å"Code of Ethics† was present at Lehman Brothers. However, for an ethics code to be effective, the tone at the top executives needs to be set right so that the entire organisation can feel connected to the firm’s ethical values and beliefs.The obvious failure we witness in Lehman’s case was that the top management, led by Ruld (CEO) and Erin Callan (CFO), were guilty of unethical negligence and wrongdoing. Therefore, i t is vital for the Shareholders to screen through their selection of the Board of Directors extremely stringently to ensure the appointment of the right leaders. As the top management was already corrupted, the Ethics Programs at Lehman had limited use in ensuring the upholding of the Ethics Code, as these top executives can wield their axe down on any whistleblowers that puts their power in jeopardy.This was the exactly what happened at Lehman, when whistleblower Matthew Lee, was axed. Therefore, Lehman needs to ensure that ethical leaders are at helm for this control mechanism to work, so that the Ethics Code can be reinforced through compliance-based ethics programmes to serve as deterrence. Simultaneously, integrity-based ethics programmes must come into play to instill and influence an individual responsibility for upholding ethical behaviour, with compliance continuously playing the role of monitoring, to prevent any future reoccurrences.On top of this, Lehman could have adopt ed the Moral Rights Approach to base their decision on whether their behaviour was ethical or unethical. Using this approach, they would not have committed fraudulent accounting, as it violates the fundamental rights that investors deserve from the use of their accounting report – which is to provide a faithful and accurate representation of the company for investors to evaluate investing decisions. Another preventive approach is the Fairness or Justice Approach to assist Lehman in weighing their ethical decision.The top executives’ decisions impact many groups of stakeholders, and the fraudulent acts only brought about harm to all stakeholders involved, as could be seen from the negative repercussions of the bank’s default – shareholders losing money, employees losing jobs, other banks’ losses due to lending to Lehman, public’s loss of confidence and stock markets crashing. If they did go about reporting their losses honestly, perhaps their stock price and profitability will fall, but at least the negative impacts would be localised within the firm, instead of triggering a banking shockwave.After all the public uproar over Enron and then the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect shareholders, why do you think we still continue to see these types of situation? Is it unreasonable to expect that businesses can and should act ethically? Analysing from the concept of Organisational Code of Ethics, it can be easily deduced that ethical failures from organisations usually stems from the individual ethics component. Unlike societal ethics and professional ethics which are based on established social norm and a certain set of standards, individual ethics is the only component that is not conformed to a certain enchmark. Every individual’s ethics differ from one another as it is shaped from the influence of their upbringing. While honesty can be one’s core value, it can also be the most neglected value of a nother. As seen from the case studies of Lehman and WorldCom, personal interest and greed of the top executives to remain in power motivated them to trample on ethics, resulting in their obstructionist approach. Managers must first understand that ethical decision making is dynamic and every element must be carefully weighed to prevent unethical issues.In applying the five ethical notions, it can be argued in Lehman’s case that manipulation brings about apparent utilitarianism for everyone (higher stock price for shareholders, more bonuses for employees, stronger creditors’ faith and higher management’s bonuses) in the short run. However, it is not justified for the stakeholders to be denied their fundamental rights of having accurate information of the bank, nor is it fair and justifiable that it brings about harm for all stakeholders in the long run when it went bust. It is very reasonable to expect businesses to act ethically.This could possibly be achieved t hrough a two pronged approach. The first, which aims to resolve unethical issues in the long run, requires the need for a stronger emphasis on education. Simple as it may sound, but the lack of ethical education is extremely glaring. In this profit driven world, where money speaks louder than anything else, there seems to be a shift towards higher reward and recognition for profits rather than ethical behaviour. Education serves as the most effective and fundamental way to resolve and prevent unethical issues altogether as it tackles the root of the problem to instill the right mindset.The second, perhaps shorter term measure, deals with governance. To prevent the evil temptation of dishonesty, there needs to be much harsher consequences and deterrence, such that temptation will vanish upon thought of the possible sentences that potential manipulators will face. Currently, the punishments of fines and jail terms are simply not severe enough to deter off such seduction of greed. With a softer but more effective measure through education to correct mentalities in the long run, and a harsher deterrence factor in the short term, ethical behaviour can be definitely be achieved.

Learning Activities Essay

Think about your own organization and the people related records that it stores Identify five records that would fit within any of the identified reasons for keeping records outlined above (you will find more information on these on p278 –p280 of the course textbook). Explain why your organization needs to maintain and use these records (provide examples of how they are actually used where you can). Training Records – At Enterprise we have a spreadsheet called â€Å"The Matrix†, this stores each employed persons training records. It is a basic excel spreadsheet with a column for names and a list of each of the available courses within Enterprise along the top. As soon as an employee has been on a course this will be inputted on to the spreadsheet along with the expiry date (if there is one) so we can ensure all personnel have valid records. Having this information available is very important, due to the nature of our work we need to show that we are keeping our employees safe by having valid training records. For example if there is an accident on site and an employee has hit an underground cable, we would need to be able to show that the person has valid training records for â€Å"safe digging† to our Health and Safety officer otherwise we as a company could be seeing as being negligent when we have a duty of care towards our employees, this could result in claims against the organization. Invoice Tracker – Every week invoices are sent in from our DSP’s to each of our contracts within the Trowbridge office. I am the project manager of shrouding and have 2 invoices sent in from each of the companies working for me. Leven’s & MOYAD construction. Once these invoices are emailed to me I will copy and record the information on to my â€Å"surveying† spreadsheet. This spreadsheet contains all site numbers ever worked on by each of my sub contractors and to what percentage that they were done on which day. Having  this information is vital to my contract I need to be able to check that each site is not being invoiced on more than one occasion as well as to the percentage that is required. Also on this spreadsheet it shows how much money will be due to be paid to both the contractor and Enterprise. Showing weekly turn over information and that we are hitting profit margins are essential on monthly meetings. Also if there was ever a dispute of pay, being able to refer to this information is important. Employee personnel Files – Each employee of Enterprise has their own personnel file. This file contains full name, address, date of birth, bank details, sickness and holiday absence details as well as written warnings (if they have any) and their signed Enterprise contract stating what their job role is and salary. These files are used when appropriate, usually when employees details need updating or they have booked holiday. Online Time Sheets – Every week every employee within Enterprise must fill out an online time sheet in order to be paid. The guys on site bring in a written version of this for the person who deals with time sheets to update their online version. This is so that any absence is recorded whether it be for half an hour or for an hour, this provides accurate attendance percentages and highlights regular patterns of absence. Curriculum Vitae – For every Job advertisement that is put on the job websites a large number of CV’s from potential applicants. These are all then filtered down to persons with most experience and knowledge of the role that we are looking to fill. These persons will then be asked to interview, if they are not successful we will still store there CV on file for six months. This is a helpful system and saves re advertising for the same job if a vacancy arose for that position. Learning activity two Again think about your own organization. For the five records you have identified above, identify and describe how the records are stored. Explain the rationale for this. Training Records – These records are stored on Microsoft Excel, this system allows us to filter out what’s relevant and what isn’t depending on the persons records we are searching. As soon as a course is booked for an employee the date of the course is put on the system till the certificate is received, at which point the expiry date ( if there is one) will then be entered in it’s place. Invoice Tracker – The invoice surveying data sheet is in Microsoft Excel, this allows easy copy and pasting of data from spreadsheet to spreadsheet. Once an invoice has been received all data from the invoice will be extracted by copying and recorded on to the surveying form by pasting in to the relevant columns. Employee Personnel Files – These are all held in a locked filing cabinet in alphabetical order. Any new employee will have an personnel file created on their day of induction. All of their personal information will be stored in here and updated when necessary. Online Time Sheet – The online time sheet is kept on our internal server database, It is a case of simply going in to â€Å"online time sheet† on the server, clicking on last weeks week, and inputting the hours worked during that day. CV’s – All CV’s received from suitable job applicants will be stored in a file on the computer. They will be copied from the Enterprise email inbox and pasted in to the file, or scanned if received through the post. Learning activity three Take one of the examples of areas of organizational activity that require accurate information to facilitate decision making. For this example: Identify and describe how the data is gathered Provide at least three examples of the sort of information that is derived and why it is useful Describe how the information is used to inform the decision making process Describe how and to whom the information is presented Draw up a list of these. Curriculum Vitea when advertising a vacancy: Once Enterprise have advertised a vacancy on the system, this will be logged on to the job centre website and other job search sites. With an Enterprise email to send all Cv’s too, there is also an address for those who are unable to send via email. All CV’s are automatically filtered in to a separate email inbox, and posted CV’S are scanned in to the system as well and will wait for review by the relevant persons. Once a significant amount of CV’s have been sent in the filtering process will begin, for example if we were advertising a Data input/Administration role we would look for experience in those titles from previous roles. Or a qualification in business administration. Filtering through this information is important so as to find the right person for employment. Once the CV’s have been filtered through they will be passed on to the office manager for review. They will then pick names from the persons filtered and make an appointment for interview. The interview is carried out by our office manager and a member of staff who will be training the potential candidate. The candidate will be asked a series of questions relating to their working background and what their skills are as well as a question on Enterprise this usually tells us straight away whether they had made the effort to do some research. This goes down very well with the office manager. Once all interviews have been carried out they will be filtered down to three potential employees who will go to the final stage of the Interview process which is a trial half day. The people who were not successful will be sent a standard letter telling them that their CV will be kept on file for 6 months. Trial half day consists of a member of staff who has a good knowledge of the role being taken on, And the potential employee. They will be shown what to  do and given tasks to get on with. Once all three candidates have been in for this, the office manager, the trainee and and a member of office staff will sit down and make a decision based on how well they got on, how quickly they learned the tasks and general attitude within the workplace. This person would then be informed of their success and will be given a start date. The two other candidates will be sent a standard letter informing them that they were unsuccessful on this occasion and that their CV will be kept on file. The short listed CV’s will be kept in a separate folder to the other batch of CV’s. Learning activity four Consider what data gathering methods you might use for a particular information gathering requirement. Cover: The specifics of the requirement The method(s) used Reason for using that particular method Any considerations in using the particular method Interviews – Potential employees, this method is perfect for getting to know the candidate, asking any questions not answered in their CV. Consider writing down all questions you are thinking of asking to avoid forgetting to ask. Surveys – Surveys are a good way to gather data from a large number of people when it’s impractical to meet them face to face, it is a good method of getting an opinion on a product, service or company. Surverys can be both formal where the results are due to statistical, reliability and validity. And informal where the results are anecdotal – Anecdotal The definition of anecdotal is something that is story-like or something that is based on stories and retellings, not based on provable facts. Observations – Direct observations are a good way of recording data, especially in a working environment, they are often done in conjunction with  another data gathering method that is used to fill in the gaps and answer questions. Observations must be arranged with plenty notice to the person you are observing and the permission from management. Consider getting someone who can tell you what to look for with regards to what you are observing, for example the use of a new mechanical device in a warehouse. Learning activity five Explore the information under the link above, then tackle the following: List the eight principles of the DPA with a brief explanation of each What does the DPA say about the rights of individuals to access to data kept on them? List at least five measures you might take to protect personnel information The eight principles of the DPA Data Protection act are the following: 1: Processing personal data fairly and lawfully, It means that you must have legitimate reason for collecting and using personal data, you must not use the data in way that have unjustified adverse effects on the individual concerned, be clear on how you intend to use the data, handle the personal data in ways they would expect and make sure you do not do anything unlawful with the data. 2: Processing personal data for specified purposes, meaning you must be clear from the offset as to why you require the information and what you are going to do with it, comply with the acts fair processing requirements – including the duty to give privacy notices to individuals when collecting their personal data. You must also comply with what the act says about notifying the information commissioner and ensure that if you wish to use or disclose the personal data for any purpose that is additional to or different from the originally specified purpose, the new use or disclosure is fair. 3: The Amount of personal data you hold; Personal data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. Meaning that you hold personal data about an individual that is sufficient for the purpose you are holding it for in relation to  that individual and you do not hold more information that you need for that purpose. 4: Keeping personal data accurate and up to date; personal data shall be accurate and when necessary up to date, to comply with this you should take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of any personal data you obtain, ensure that the source of any personal data is clear, carefully consider any challenges to the accuracy of the information, and consider whether it is necessary to update the information. 5: Retaining personal data; personal data processed or any purpose shall not be kept for loner than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. Meaning review the length of time you keep personal data, consider the purpose or purposes you hold the information for in deciding whether and how long for to retain it, securely delete information that is no longer needed for this purpose or these purposes; and update, archive or securely delete information that goes out of date. 6: The rights of individuals; Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this act; the rights of access to copy the information compromised in their personal data; a right to object to processing that is likely to cause or is cause damage or distress, a right to prevent processing for direct marketing, a right to object to decisions being taken by automated means, a right in certain circumstances to have accurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed, and a right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the act. 7: information security; appropriate technical and organizational measures shall be taken against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. It means you will need to design and organize your security to fit the nature of the personal data you hold and the harm that may result from a security breach; be clear about who in your organization is responsible for ensuring information security; make sure that you have the right physical and technical security, back up by robust policies and procedures and  reliable, well trained staff as well as being ready to respond to any breach of security swiftly and effectively. 8: Sending personal data outside the European Economic Area; personal data should not be transferred to a country or territory outside the #EEA unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level od protection for the rights and freedoms od data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data. Individuals who wish to access personal data on themselves commonly known as subject access; Can do so by writing a request to the company with possibly paying a fee, this entitles them to be told whether their personal data is being processed, they can request that they are given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed and whether it will be given to any other organizations or people. The individual can also be given a copy of the information compromising the data and be given details of the source of the data. An individual can also request the reasons as to why any automated decisions are made for example a computer generated decision on credit. Whether to allow or deny. The individual is entitled only to their own personal data and not to information relating to other people. If I was running my own company the five measures I would put in place to protect the personal data are the following: Install a fire wall, anti spy ware and virus checking on all computers, this is a very common security implication, this would protect my computers from viruses which have the potential to download information from my computers to theirs. Anti spyware provides a monitoring service which stops programs being installed that can read passwords, bank details and other sensitive data. Protect computer files with passwords: Protecting files with passwords is a good way of keeping data restricted; I would ensure that only a few members of staff have the password and that it is changed on a regular basis. Disposing of computers; All old computers should be destroyed correctly, by using a recognized computer disposal service or by destroying the hard disk. Any old computers despite deleting the data, can still be accessed. Email information securely: Consider whether the email should be password protected. Learning activity six Look at the information provided under the link above, then tackle the following: What are the two ways that public authorities are obliged to provide information? What is the public interest test? What is a vexatious request? Try to interpret your answers using your own words Public authorities are obliged to publish information about their activities, as well as members of the public are entitled to request information from them. Public authorities must publish information proactively; The freedom of Information act requires every public authority to have a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a commitment by the council to make information available routinely, without waiting for someone specifically to request it. The publication scheme must state a promise to make certain levels of information routinely available such as who you are and what you do, the services you offer, organizational structure, policies and procedures, Contracts and reports, minutes of meetings, annual requests and financial information. Once the publication has been created it must first be approved by The Information Commissions Office ICO. Information in the publication scheme represents the minimum that must be shown, if a member of the public wants information that is not on this, they can still ask for it. Members of the publican request information from public authority and they have two separate ways in which they can respond: 1: Tell the applicant whether you hold any information that matches the criteria of what they have requested. 2: to provide them with the requested information Usually the request should be responded to within 20 working days. When receiving a request it must be in the form of a letter of email to be valid under The Freedom Of Information Act, the request must include their name, address and a description of the information requested, the act covered information not specific documents. The public interest test is a guidance document provided by The Information Commissioners Office,he has produced this series of good practice guidance designed to aid understanding and application of the FOIA The aim is to show some of the key areas of the freedom of information act and to help guide on how to respond to information requests. The guidance provided by the ICO is only a starting point going from research I found: section 1 of FOIA sets out the right to any person making a request for information to a public authority these are: The right to be informed Whether the information is held or not by the authority and if so then The right to have that information communicated to them. In principle it states that both these rights need to be treated separately. When applying the public interest test, consideration should be given first to whether it is right to confirm or deny whether the information is held and secondly whether the information should be supplied. To decide whether a request is vexatious you would need to look at the following: Can the request be seen as obsessive Is the request harassing the authority or causing distress to staff Would complying with the request impose significant burden in terms of expense and distraction ( with regards to employees) Is the request designed to cause disruption or annoyance Does the request lack any serious purpose or value You should be able to decipher whether the request is vexatious by looking at  these headings. Learning activity seven There are many methods of keeping records or information, some of which are computerized. Identify three types of records or information that relate to an area of business and inform decision making in that area. For each of the three types: Describe how the information/record is stored How reason for storing the information/record in this way How the storage method meets the requirements of the DPA Keeping records of employees sickness and absence, we keep his electronically on the system in a password secured file. Each person has there own line on a spread sheet and each day they are off that date will be marked in red, with a comment attached to it stating why the person was off sick. Any sick notes will be scanned in to the system and stored within that persons file. We ensure that this file is secure at all time and only management have access to it. Reasons for this is that we want to ensure other employees cant see other peoples absence and reasons for being off sick as that is private and confidential. The DPA states the following: obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes adequate, relevant and not excessive to the purpose for which the data are required accurate and, where necessary, kept up-to-date kept secure against unlawful or unauthorised processing, or accidental loss or erasure This is compliant with the Data protection act as we have only managers who have access to the file. We must keep this information as up to date as possible as absence and sickness in the work place can highlight problem areas that need to be looked at and resolved. Keeping CV’s – These are all stored in a file on the main system, these can be accessed by the nominated filter processors who are usally a member of the team which the vacancy is for, and the manager of that dept. This is so  they can access them when needed. CV’s are usually kept for a year and then disposed of. This is compliant with the DPA’s standards as we don’t keep information longer than we need to as well as having only a select few people who are able to access the information. Training certificate records – All certificates are kept in our personnel files, however our training dept at head office also holds a copy as when the training is carried out a copy of the cert is sent to them also. This information is recorded on our training matrix and updated accordingly. We store the certificates in this way so that we can see who requires training and when. Also if anything happens on site and our health and safety officer needs to see what training they have in place we can have it available as soon as possible for him. Our storage methods meet the requirements of the DPA by keeping the information secure, all our employees have access to their records when required. We do advise that when we receive a certificate that they come in for a copy to put in their own records at home. Learning activity eight Take one example from the context of your organisation where information has been sourced, collected, analysed and then interpreted to inform decision making. For this example: State why the information was needed (how was it intended to support decision making?) How was it sourced? What method of data gathering was used and why? Show an output from the analysis of the data (example: pie chart, bar chart) Sickness and Absence – The information is gathered from employees time sheets which are handed in weekly to the office manager the time sheet consists of a basic table on an A4 piece of paper that requires the employees to input their hours. This will then be handed in and inputted manually. This can then be printed off and used. Sickness and absence information is required once a month at the operations meetings, the operations manager will go through with the contracts manager as to why someone was off for a period of time whether it was due to sickness, was a doctors note provided or whether it is a reoccurring unauthorized absence. If it is an re occurring unauthorized absence; this will be highlighted with our HR Department at head office. Once this happens our HR representative Jo Betts will arrange an interview with the person to get to the bottom of why they are having this time off and whether an improvement program can be put in place. Usually they will be issued with a warning and put on an attendance watch if they cannot give a valid reason as to why they aren’t coming in to work. This bar chart is in my Evidence folder 02.07 document Learning activity nine Look at the example above – and considering the broad principles of a dashboard – describe how you might create a dashboard (or describe an existing dashboard What areas of information would/does it contain? From where would you source the data to populate the dashboard? Who would use the dashboard and why? I would create a dashboard based on training record information; it would show what percentage of employees had valid training records and what percentage have them but they are out of date.. I would also have an accident chart, we have a few accidents a month relating from hitting underground BT cables and water pipes, as well as employees having accidents from climbing electric poles. Due to the fact most of our accidents are fairly similar, I would be able to group them easily by title. We provide training courses for all of these incidents such as â€Å"pole top rescue† and â€Å"Safe digging practices†, so where an employee may not have a valid training record for this, and that employee was involved in the accident this would be a good way of highlighting why the accident happened in the first place and that he should not be carrying out that particular job without undergoing training. I would source the training data from the Training Matrix file system. This  information is kept up to date at all times and is readily available to me when I need it. The accident data is kept with our Health and Safety manager, I would request the information from him. The dashboard would be a great tool to take to Operations meetings where our health and safety manager goes over the level of accidents and training carried out for that month. He can then compare using a bar chart whether there are a higher percentage of valid training records for that month in comparison to others. Learning activity ten Read the information contained under the link above, then tackle the following: A Balanced Scorecard approach generally has four perspectives – what are they? What are the potential benefits of using a balanced scorecard? Why is feedback essential? A balanced score card is defined as â€Å" a strategic planning and management system used to align business activities to the vision statement of an organization† in more simple and realistic terms a balance score card attempts to translate the sometimes vague, hopes of a companies mission statement in to the practicalities od managing the business better at every level. To produce your own balance score card you must know and understand: The companies mission statement The companies strategic plan/vision The financial status or the company How the organization is currently structured and operating The level of expertise of their employees Customer satisfaction level. The four perspectives that the Balanced score card generally has are that of: Finance – in which covers the following areas: Return on investment Cash flow Return on capital employed Financial results Quarterly/Yearly Internal Business processes – which covers the following areas: Number of activities per year Function Duplicate activities across functions Process alignment (is the process in the right dept.)(When the organization’s business processes, quality definitions and measures are aligned to the strategy) Process bottlenecks Process automation (A general technology term that is used to describe any process being automated through the use of computers and computer software. Processes that have been automated require less human intervention and less human time to deliver) Learning and Growth – which covers the following areas: Is there the correct level of expertise for the job Employee turnover Job Satisfacti0on Training/Learning opportunities Customer – Which covers the following areas: Delivery performance to customer Quality performance for customer Customer satisfaction rate Customer percentage of market Customer retention rate. The benefits of using a balanced score card are that it enables you to see a mixture of financial and non financial measures each compared to a target value within a single concise ( expressing alot of detail in a few words†¦) report. Once the Balanced score card is implemented within the organization you should see improved processes. Motivated educated employees Enhances information systems Monitored progress Greater customer satisfaction Increased financial usage. However for any software to work effectively it should be: Compliant with your current technology platform Always accessible to everyone – Everywhere Easy to understand/update/communicate The balanced score card is only of good use when available to everyone, not by keeping it hidden. Feedback is essential and should be contributed to by everyone within the business Carol do I need to go on to discuss the 360 degree feedback here?

The National Guard Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The National Guard - Case Study Example The advantages of the National Guard: â€Å"From college degrees to lessons of the heart, the Guard ensures you a higher education†. The education that is spoken of here is not merely academic, but richer experiences of bravery, skill, sacrifice, courage, valor, life and death. It teaches a person how to value life because death stares him in the face all the time. It teaches him how to nurture courageousness because he witnesses fear in times of adversity. It helps him place a high value on friendship because he sees friends being torn apart by death. These are a few of the values that get internalized as one works in the National Guard. The Reserve Component and Mobilization Policy now in force states that, â€Å"National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers will mobilize and deploy for only one year† as earlier it was 15 months. This would help students not to miss out on school so much. The disadvantages of the National Guard: One of the difficulties faced by the National Guard is the stress of constant overseas deployment. Students find it quite stressful when they have to leave school suddenly and go overseas.Another factor in question is that there is no guarantee for the life of a soldier. He is on call 24/7 and has to serve with his life whether he likes it or not. He does not have the freedom to say that he can’t do a job. He has to be totally committed to his job. A National Guard has to work odd hours and in very dangerous situations. He has to face extremely stressful and strenuous situations and give his life if necessary. Sometimes he has to bear the loss of his leaders or comrades who save their countrymen while losing their own lives. He has to have the courage to smile through all the hardships he faces. A National Guard does one of the toughest jobs on Earth by defending his country with his life. He learns from life's experiences and therefore understands it in a way none of us can! He is one of the most

Can we still refer to the public sphere Use examples to suggest how Essay

Can we still refer to the public sphere Use examples to suggest how realistic or idealistic this notion is with regards to jour - Essay Example It becomes a focal point of our yearning for the good society, the institutional sites where popular political will should take form and citizens should be able to comprise themselves as active agents in the political process. democratic character and consequently in a sense the most instantly visible indicator of our admittedly flawed democracies (Hallin, Daniel C, 1994). The notion of the public sphere can be used in a very general as well as common-sense manner, as, for instance, a synonym for the processes of public view or for the news media themselves. In its more ambitious appearance, however, as it was developed by Jurgen Habermas (1993), the public sphere ought to be understood as an analytic class, a conceptual device which, while pointing to a definite social occurrence can also help us in analyzing and researching the experience. For Habermas, the idea of the bourgeois public sphere indicates a specific social space, which arose under the development of capitalism in West ern Europe. As an analytic category, the bourgeois public sphere comprises a vibrant nexus which links various actors, factors as well as contexts together in a consistent theoretic framework. So why should we listen to a philosopher, even one so distinguished as Richard Rorty, who still believes in a democratic role for journalism— at least, why should we listen in any frame of mind other than one of ironic knowingness about the fate of philosophy in the real world? (Hall, 1982) â€Å"I think that contemporary liberal society already contains the institutions for its own improvement,† Rorty wrote in Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. â€Å"Indeed, my hunch is that Western social and political thought may have had the last conceptual revolution it needs. s private lives alone and preventing suffering† while â€Å"discoveries about who is being made to suffer can be left to the workings of a free press, free universities, and enlightened public opinion. t we di smiss in an especially derisive tone of ironic knowingness any such vision of intellectual history at its end? Rorty, it turns out, has anticipated and subverted our irony with irony of his own. An ultimate ironist, according to Rorty, knows that even if liberal democracy has had the last conceptual revolution it needs, it has not had the last revolution possible. That is because a world in which democracy is fully realized is a world constituted and maintained by a particular language—a language that enables its citizens to articulate their loathing of injustice as well as their love of liberty. The ultimate ironist also knows that such a world can never be entirely secure because its language is a contingent rather than necessary development in human history. Anything, including both suffering and freedom, can be â€Å"made to look good or bad, important or unimportant, useful or useless, by being re-described.† Thus the ultimate ironist lives with the terrible reali zation that, whenever language hostile to justice or liberty is spoken by the adversaries of democratic values, no ultimate philosophical weapon—no knowledge of what is fundamentally real and no vision of what is truly human—is available to the defenders of democratic values. The defenders can only exercise, and strive to enhance, the descriptive and persuasive powers of their moral language (Glasser, 1998). S position on the

Inspired by Nature, Perfected by Science Assignment

Inspired by Nature, Perfected by Science - Assignment Example Research was conducted by Dr. Alan Darlington — a world-renowned expert on indoor-air biofilters who is now our company President — along with a team of researchers from U of G. Findings from this research were so positive that Dr. Darlington was awarded a fellowship to take the technology to market. In 2001, Air Quality Solutions Ltd was launched. Through ongoing research and strong product development, the company soon gained more than an impressive — and growing — share of the market: it also gained the attention of the NEDLAW Group, respected specialists in both conventional and living roofs. In 2008 the two companies joined forces and Air Quality Solutions became NEDLAW Living Walls Inc. What are the options for making NEDLAW Living Wallsâ„ ¢ active? There are three ways air can be drawn through the Living Wall to make it active: The most effective way is for the wall to be designed as an alternative return-air path back to the HVAC. The air, which is normally drawn from the space, is first cleansed as it passes through the wall and is then disseminated through the space by the HVAC. Ideally a bypass is integrated into the design so that air can be drawn from the space without passing through the wall (for periods of free cooling, wall establishment or wall maintenance). The second approach is to build fans right into the wall so it functions as a stand-alone unit, separate from the building’s HVAC. Although this works well, it is not as effective as the first method since it has a much more localized effect. The third method is a hybrid of the first two. The Living Wall has its own fan system but it also has a duct system to better diffuse air through the space. We can help select which scenario would work best in your space. Return to the top What do NEDLAW active Living Wall biofilters look like? A wall covered in plants, our system is essentially vertical hydroponics. Water from a basin planting is lifted by a pump system to the top and flows back through the interior of the plant wall, circulating through a closed water loop system. Return to the top Is anyone else trying this approach? To the best of our knowledge, the NEDLAW patented system is the only one to use plant walls as biofilters to control indoor air quality. Return to the top Could native plants be used in the system? Some native plants may be present. However, most native plants would not survive well indoors. Plants adapt to their local climate and, as such, plants from northern climates generally require the different seasons to grow properly. For most native plants to survive indoors, the climate in the wall would have to mimic these seasons, making routine use of the space difficult and its performance irregular. Return to the top How long do the plants survive in the space? We expect about 90% survival of the plants each year; but this is largely dependent on the choice of plants and local conditions. Return to the top Are pesticides used in the wall? We use only methods that can be considered organic to control pests in our walls; we emphasize management practices and biological controls such as predators. So-called pests such as white flies, fungus gnats, spider mites and their respective predator species are necessary, even desirable. They contribute to the ecosystem’s species diversity and ecological stability. Return

Rhythm and Blues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhythm and Blues - Research Paper Example This essay declares that  the increasing fame of Rhythm and Blues among the African Americans resulted in the genre becoming popular as work songs, gospel songs, and church hymns, ballads, and lyrics as well as secular music. Combining the two styles of music into one genre instilled strong emotions among the singers and lead instruments thereby reflecting soulful and melodic blues with rhythmic force and concentration.According to the report findings the recent years have witnessed Rhythm and Blues music receiving widespread criticisms for various reasons. Although singers have been praised for being soulful and capturing emotions of the audiences, the genre has been associated with negative activities in the society like sex, selling drugs, and domestic violence. Most of the early artists who performed Rhythm and Blues were associated with drugs and sex. Even the terms used to identify the stars portrayed the aspects of sex and drugs. For instance, some of them were identified as hard-living and hard-drinking characters. As the fame of musicians increased, the number of followers increased. Male musicians had a big number of female followers, who spent time together and were willing to engage in sexual activities. The dance styles and style of dressing among musicians and other characters in the music videos has been described as lewd, due to its explicit contents.  The behavior of most artists has been considered as strange. In fact, there are other artists who have confessed being addicted to alcohol and other drugs like heroin and cocaine.

Implementation of ecotourism principles in Pembrokeshire Coastal Essay

Implementation of ecotourism principles in Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park . Success or failure- Conclusion and Abstract - Essay Example The principles of ecotourism as laid down by †¦ have been used as the basis of assessment and the non-compliance with any one of these principles is suggestive of failure. The rationale for the research lies in its interest to the wider community. PNCB in Wales was chosen because of its location and because of the suitability of Wales generally as an ecotourism destination. The collection of data was done by means of survey questionnaires which were done face to face, by telephone interviews and emailed questionnaire. The methodology was both qualitative and quantitative as both served to reinforce and strengthen the other. The findings revealed that even though the visitors to the park were impressed with the scenic beauty and would recommended it as an ecotourism site there were still shortcomings that needed to be addressed. PNCP which was used to test the principles was weak in a number of respects. The management was not able to control the traffic through the park as it is an open area. The full cooperation of the community with the NPA is necessary to facilitate the implementation of the principles of ecotourism. The decision to conserve energy and preserve the environment is currently left to the locals who do not place major importance on the issue at this time. Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations In concluding it is clear from the findings that there is no standard definition for ecotourism. However, the principles have provided sufficient guidelines to indicate that ecotourism principles have not been fully implemented at PNCP. The park is affected by increased tourist visitation with over 4.2 million visitors per year. This problem concurs with Weaver’s (2001) and Butler’s (1991) finding that increased tourist visitation is one of the most persistent problems facing parks and protected areas in the UK. The authorities are unable to control the entrance to the park because it is an open area. There is no real possibility of keeping anybody out. How do you limit the number of visitors in an open area? An additional problem faced in terms of minimising the negative impacts is the fact that ninety nine per cent (99%) of the park is in private hands. This problem may seem irresolvable. However, there is always a way. It simply means that the several owners would have to cooperate in order to facilitate the security of the park for it to implement this particular aspect of the principles of ecotourism. Establishing this principle is and will continue to be the real challenge for PNCP under the existing conditions. This principle, however, may not seem suitable based on the issues on the ground (Diamantis 2004). While people cannot be forced to practice preservation and conservation in terms of the use of energy, recycling and proper disposal of waste, educating them will take some time. It has to start in the schools and other institutions which can help in a positive way. Young children can teach their parents and older siblings a lot. They are the standard bearers of the future. The older folks are already set in their ways and may not think that these efforts will impact their well being in any major way. They are taken up with the daily problems in the economy. However, there are still ways that can be used to get them involved in energy conservation and preservation of the environment. The other major institutions such as the church and local clubs can be used as a means of getting the locals to comply with guidelines. They

Compare the moral theories of Kant and Aristotle. Argue for the Essay

Compare the moral theories of Kant and Aristotle. Argue for the superiority of one or the other. Qualify your position however y - Essay Example There are similarities in their views on the role and nature of knowledge and morality in the lives of human beings, while there are differences in the tenets that make up their philosophy. Aristotle, in his philosophy, maintains the importance of the soul in the acquisition of moral virtue. It is only by fulfilling the dictates of this soul, which is guided by reason that one would be able to achieve happiness. This happiness could be achieved by man, who was at the highest position in Aristotle’s teleological view of things. Man was at the highest position in his scala naturae, which means the Great Chain of Being, as a result of the possession of rationality and reason, unique to man, who maintains his superiority as a result of this rationality. The rational human person, the creature at the top of the biological ladder, would have a good character that arose out of the creation of moral virtue. To create this character, he would need the fortune to be tutored by somebody higher than him like a teacher, something that would be available only to the elite sections of the society. Aristotle himself was tutored by people like Plato and he was tutor to Alexander the Great. Contemporary Greek ideas and practices were thus, a great factor in the development of the theories of Aristotle.

Organisational leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organisational leadership - Essay Example This paper will discuss the different responsibilities of CEO’s and will seek to establish whether the CEO is influential in rallying organizational culture. The chief executive officer is the overall leader in an organization, and he is required to report to the board of governors. The CEO acts according to the will of the board of governors, and he implements their decisions and strategies. Since the CEO cannot manage the organization on a solo basis, he/she appoints other managers to whom he/she delegates roles and responsibilities (Hajdini, 2010, p. 39). The number and roles of subsequent managers depend on the organizational structure. The CEO is required to understand the goals of the organization and come up with ways of achieving the set goals. The CEO takes actions in place of the board of governors and he/she represents them in the daily operation of the business. The CEO is required to implement the decisions made by the board (Gitlow, 2004, p.87). He/she governs the organization on behalf of the board and therefore all decisions and strategies must be in line with what the board has decided. The CEO is entrusted with the responsibility of creating philosophies in the organization (Hajdini, 2010, p. 22). The philosophies created should be mission oriented and should favor the employees and the management. Most CEO’s have better academic qualification that members of the board and are the responsibility of designing strategies to accomplish the organizational goals. The CEO is the liaison between the board and the employees and therefore he/she ensures that the two groups linkup well. He/she acts as the link tool through communication between the two groups. The CEO understands the organization better than the board and hence is trusted on advising and informing them. The CEO oversees all the departments and liaises with the department heads to ensure that each